Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; pt, Taipa, ) was a former
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, presently united with the island of
Coloane by reclaimed land known as
Cotai
Cotai (; pt, Zona do Aterro de Cotai) is a piece of newly reclaimed land on top of Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has made two independent islands become one island, since 2005. The word (a portmanteau of Coloan ...
. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo is a civil parish in Macao Special Administrative Region. The major part of the freguesia is located in Taipa but it runs through to Hengqin Island in mainland China. The freguesia is named after the Igreja de ...
are coterminous with that of former Taipa Island.
Geography
Taipa is from
Macau Peninsula
The Macau Peninsula is the most populous and historical part of Macau. It has an area of () and is geographically connected to Guangdong Province at the northeast through an isthmus wide. The peninsula, together with downtown Zhuhai, sits o ...
and east of the Lesser
Hengqin
Hengqin (, pt, Ilha da Montanha) is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city and Special economic zones of China, special economic zone in Guangdong, Guangdong Province of the China, People's Republic of China. It has a population of about ...
Island of
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
Province.
Macau International Airport
Macau International Airport ( zh, 澳門國際機場; pt, Aeroporto Internacional de Macau) is an international airport in the special administrative region of Macau, situated at the eastern end of Taipa island and neighbouring waters whic ...
,
University of Macau, Macau Jockey Club and Macau Stadium are all situated in Taipa.
*
Area
Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape
A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...
:
()
*
Population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
: 70,000+
Most Chinese settlement of Taipa occurred during the
Southern Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
, while the
Portuguese occupied the island in 1851. Prior to land reclamation, Taipa consisted of two islands: Greater Taipa and Lesser Taipa.
The () is to the east, and () to the west. Central Taipa is a plain as a result of
siltation and
land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
. Initially Taipa was connected to
Coloane Island only by the () causeway; but the area called
Cotai
Cotai (; pt, Zona do Aterro de Cotai) is a piece of newly reclaimed land on top of Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has made two independent islands become one island, since 2005. The word (a portmanteau of Coloan ...
, built on reclaimed land from 2004 and which is home to mega-resorts, casinos, and convention and exhibition centres, has now connected the two islands into one piece of land. Taipa is connected to peninsular Macau by
Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge,
Friendship Bridge and the
Sai Van Bridge
Sai Van Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Macau, China, inaugurated on December 19, 2004. The bridge measures long and is the third one to cross the Praia Grande Bay connecting Taipa Island and Macau Peninsula. It features a double-deck design, ...
.
Taipa is predominantly a growing residential area with many new apartment complexes, mostly up-scale, under construction . As a new town of Macau, Taipa has better city planning than Macau Peninsula; however, many people choose to live in Macau Peninsula since most of the famous schools are located there.
In 2015 the body of the Director General of Macao Customs Service,
Lai Minhua
Lai Minhua, Chinese: (January 1959 - 30 October 2015) was a police officer from Macau, who was Director General of Macau Customs Service. According to official sources, she died by suicide in 2015, however doubt has been cast over this verdict.
...
, was found in the district.
The names of Taipa
In
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
, Taipa has been known by many names over time, including (''Lung Waan'', meaning "
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
Ring"), (''Gai Geng'', "Chicken's neck"), (''Taam Jai'', "Pool"), and (''Lung Tau Waan'', "Dragon's-Head Ring").
The Portuguese name "Taipa" comes from the Chinese pronunciation of in
Min Nan
Southern Min (), Minnan (Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ...
/'/ (similar to "tiamp-a") then became "Taipa". The
Putonghua
Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
for is ''dàngzǎi'', and this is how the island is referred to in Mandarin. Both the character and the alternative form 凼 mean cesspit, but are obsolete in modern Chinese, and only used in relation to Taipa and the Macau-Taipa Bridge ( ''àodàng dàqiáo''). The character
氹, or
凼 (often used in Mainland Chinese texts), is often missing from mobile phone and computer input systems.
Another version according to legend, comes from an exchange between early Portuguese settlers on Taipa and local Chinese settlers. The Portuguese asked the Chinese the name (''nome'' in Portuguese) of the place. The Chinese settlers were local grocery shopkeepers and spoke no Portuguese, but took the Portuguese ''nome'' for the Chinese , "sticky rice", which is pronounced similar to ''nome'' in Cantonese. Thinking the Portuguese settlers were asking if they sold sticky rice, the Chinese responded with "", pronounced "daai ba" in Cantonese, meaning "a lot." The Portuguese, hearing the response, took this to be the name of the place. There is, however, no historical evidence to support this story. "Taipa" is also what the Portuguese call the clay-mud, rammed into moulds, used to build mud houses in Portugal in times gone by, in recent times referred to as Rammed Earth.
It is also worth noting that, as the great majority of the population in Taipa and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
is Chinese; however, there is a growing community of expatriates living in Taipa who work at the casinos in Cotai or at the schools and universities. Most people refer to this island by its Cantonese name, "Tamzai", and most taxi drivers and bus drivers will not understand if asked how to go to "Taipa."
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public preschool and primary school include:
* Escola Luso-Chinesa da Taipa () – Preschool and primary school
Private tuition-free primary and secondary schools:
*
Macau Anglican College – Preschool through secondary
* Escola Cáritas de Macau () – Special education
*
Escola Dom João Paulino
Escola Dom João Paulino ( zh, 聖善學校), is one of the earliest schools built in Macao, established in 1911. Located on Taipa, it is operated by the Diocese of Macau.[Fong Chong School of Taipa
Fong may refer to:
*the Bulu tribe of the Beti–Pahuin people of Cameroon
*various Chinese surnames
**the Hong Kong Government Cantonese romanization of the surname Fāng ()
**the Taishanese pronunciation of the Chinese surname Kuàng ()
**a ...]
(''Escola Fong Chong da Taipa''; ) – Preschool through senior secondary school
*
Hou Kong Middle School Macau
Hou or HOU may refer to:
* -hou, a place-name element
* Hou (surname)
* Hou (currency) (Chinese: ), a unit of currency in Greater China
* Hou (Odder Municipality), a town in Denmark
* Hou (title) (Chinese: ), a title in ancient China
* Denglo ...
Affiliated English School ()
* Taipa Elementary School Branch ()
* (''Escola Secundária Pui Va''; ) – Preschool through secondary school
* (''Escola de Aplicação Anexa à Universidade de Macau''; ) – Preschool through secondary
Private non-free primary and secondary schools:
*
The International School of Macao – Located in Block K inside the
Macau University of Science and Technology – Preschool through secondary
*
School of the Nations (聯國學校; Escola das Nações) – Preschool through secondary with special education
Colleges and universities
Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST),
Institute for Tourism Studies
Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT; ; pt, Instituto de Formação Turística) is a public institution of higher education located in Macau, China which is administered by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government. ...
, and
City University of Macau are located in Taipa.
University of Macau (UM), on
Hengqin Island
Hengqin (, pt, Ilha da Montanha) is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city and special economic zone in Guangdong Province of the People's Republic of China. It has a population of about 3,000. Parts of Hengqin were leased to Macau by the ...
, which is part of Taipa (Nossa Senhora do Carmo), but geographically separate from Taipa.
Public libraries
The parish has two public libraries operated by the
Macao Public Library
The Macao Public Library (; pt, Biblioteca Pública de Macau) is the public library system of Macau. The head office is on the ground floor of the old building of the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library in São Lourenço (Saint Lawrence Parish).
Hist ...
system. Taipa Library (''Biblioteca da Taipa''; ), which began trial operations on 15 April 2015 and opened officially on 1 September of that year, occupies of space in the basement of Taipa Central Park (''Parque Central da Taipa''; ). Wong Ieng Kuan Library in Taipa (''Biblioteca de Wong Ieng Kuan da Taipa''; ) occupies of space on the second and third floors of Hei Loi Tang Plaza (). The library, which had its construction funded with donations from the Wong Ieng Kuan Foundation (''Fundação Wong Ieng Kuan''; ), opened in January 2005.
File:Macau Library Wong Leng Kuan Taipa Hei Loi Tang Plaza.JPG, Wong Ieng Kuan Library in Taipa
File:New Taipa Library.jpg, Taipa Library
Infrastructures
*
Macau Refuse Incineration Plant
The Macau Refuse Incineration Plant (MRIP; ; pt, 1=Incineração de Resíduos Sólidos de Macau) is an incinerator in Taipa, Macau, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the wor ...
Transport
*
Macau International Airport
Macau International Airport ( zh, 澳門國際機場; pt, Aeroporto Internacional de Macau) is an international airport in the special administrative region of Macau, situated at the eastern end of Taipa island and neighbouring waters whic ...
*
Taipa Ferry Terminal
*
Macau Light Rail Transit
, image = Metro Ligeiro de Macau logo.svg
, imagesize = 234px
, locale = Macau
, transit_type = Automated guideway transit
, lines = 1
, stations = 11
, ridership =
, website =
, began_operation = 10 December 2019 (Taipa Line)
, operati ...
Healthcare
Health centres operated by the Macau government in Taipa include Centro de Saúde dos Jardins do Oceano (), Centro de Saúde Nossa Senhora do Carmo-Lago (), and Posto de Saúde para os Idosos Taipa ().
Other healthcare services include:
*
Macau University of Science and Technology Hospital
Macau University of Science and Technology Hospital (MUST Hospital; ), is one of three hospitals in Macau. The hospital is located in the Cotai area of Macau. Opened in 2006, it is run by the Macau University of Science and Technology Foundation. ...
*
Posto de Urgência das Ilhas
*
Kiang Wu Hospital
Kiang Wu Hospital (KWH; ) is a privately owned hospital located in Santo António, Macau. It is one of the three hospitals in Macau. Founded in 1871, the hospital is run by the Kiang Wu Charitable Association and offered Chinese medical services. R ...
Taipa Medical Centre
Tourism
*
Altira Macau
Altira Macau (, Portuguese: Altira Macau) formerly known as Crown Macau, is an integrated resort and casino in Taipa, Macau, SAR China. The hotel complex has 216 guest rooms and a spa. Altira Macau is the tallest building in Taipa and among the ...
*
Cunha Street
*
Macau Olympic Aquatic Centre
The Macau Olympic Aquatic Centre (; pt, Piscina Olimpica de Macau) is an aquatic center in Taipa, Macau, China. Inaugurated on March 28, 2003, the aquatic center covers a total area of 3,220 m2 and has a seating capacity of 1,500. The Aquatic Ce ...
*
Macau Stadium
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a popu ...
*
Museum of Taipa and Coloane History
The Museum of Taipa and Coloane History (; pt, Museu da História da Taipa e Coloane) is a museum in Taipa, Macau, China.
History
The museum building used to be a public administration building named Island Municipal Council Building. It use ...
*
Taipa Houses–Museum
*
Macau Jockey Club
The Macau Jockey Club (MJC; , Portuguese: Jockey Clube de Macau) is an organization providing horse racing and betting entertainment in Macau, China. MJC is one of the largest private employers of Macau with around 1,400 employees and around 1,100 ...
*
Taipa Fort ()
Religious
* Pou Tai Un Temple ( or ): named after
bodhi tree
*
Kun Yam
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...
Temple ()
*
Tin Hau Temple ()
*
Sam Po
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional c ...
Temple (): dedicated to the elder sister of Tin Hau
*
Pak Tai
Hēidì () or Hēishén (), who is the Běidì (, Cantonese language, Cantonese: ''Pak Tai'') or Běiyuèdàdì () is a deity in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion, one of the cosmological "Five Forms of the Highest Deity" (). He is also id ...
Temple (): dedicated to the Taoist God of the North
* Four-faced
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
(): invited from
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
in 1985
*
Church of Our Lady of Carmel
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
():
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church
See also
*
Taipa Ferry Terminal
*
List of islands and peninsulas of Macau
References
External links
Heritage on TaipaSatellite image of Taipa by Google Maps
{{Authority control
Populated coastal places in Macau
Former Portuguese colonies